Q. 1. Explain the five push factors that cause ‘migration of population’ in India.
Ans. (i) Large number of young people are migrating because rural India is saturated and cannot provide employment opportunities for a growing population.
(ii) Most women migrants have migrated after marriage. In North India, women are not supposed to marry a man from the same village. So, invariably marriage means migration.
(iii) Many end up as ragpickers or casual construction workers. Many don’t get employment throughout the year and commute between urban and rural areas. After the harvest, they migrate to urban areas for a few months before the rainy season.
(iv) Joining family members is the reason for urban migration. First, the husband gets employment and settles. Then, if he gets a decent house he brings his family. Finally, migration for education also takes place.
(v) Lack of basic facilities in the rural areas also works as a push factor for migration.
Q. 2. Explain any three ‘push’ and any two ‘pull’ factors that inference the migration of population in the world.
Ans. Push Factors :
(i) Unemployment
(ii) Poor living conditions
(iii) Political turmoil
(iv) Unpleasant climate
(v) Natural disasters
(vi) Epidemics and socio – economic backwardness
Pull Factors :
(i) Better job opportunities
(ii) Living conditions
(iii) Peace and stability
(iv) Security of life and property.
(v) Pleasant climate.
Q. 3. Define the term migration. Explain four factors that are responsible for migration of people in India.
Ans. Human migration is the movement of people from one place to another with the intention of settling temporarily or permanently in new locations. Four factors that are responsible for migration of people in India are as follows :
(i) Marriage : Marriage is a very important social factor of migration in India. Every girl has to migrate to her in-laws house after marriage. Thus, the entire female population of India has to migrate over short or long distance.
(ii) Employment : People migrate in large number from rural to urban areas in search of employment. The agricultural base of rural areas does not provide employment to all the people living there. Even the small scale and cottage industries of the village fail to provide employment to the entire rural population. Hence, large percentage of rural population is found to migrate to urban centres in search of job opportunities.
(iii) Education : Rural areas, by and large, lack educational facilities, especially those of higher education and rural people have to migrate to the urban centres for this purpose. Many of them settle in the cities for earning a livelihood after completing their education.
(iv) Lack of security: Political disturbances and interethnic number of people have migrated out of Jammu & Kashmir and Assam during the last few years due to disturbed conditions there.
Q. 4. What is meant by the term “migration”? Explain the social and environmental consequences of migration in India.
Ans. Migration is the movement by people from one place to another with the intention of settling in the new location. The movement is typically over long distances and from one country to another, but internal migration is also possible. Migration may be by individuals, family or large groups.
In India, integral migration often involves longer working hours, poor living and working conditions, social isolation and poor access to basic amenities. Most migrant labourers in India are employed in the unorganised sector where the lack of regulation compounds their vulnerability, they are largely ignored by government and NGO programmes.
The social effects of migration vary widely. Sending areas may experience both gains and losses in the short term but may stand to gain over the longer term. For receiving areas, temporarily worker programs help to address skill shortages but may decrease domestic wages and add to public welfare burden.
The social effects of migration for both sending and receiving areas may also vary depending on who is moving. Most migrants and refugees do not have the financial means to travel long distance. They seek a safe heaven in another region in their own or in a neighbouring country. The economically weaker countries are therefore most severely affected by migration and refugee problems.
Migration also has a demonstrable aspect, both positive and negative, impact on the environment and territory in both the countries of origin and destination. Both phenomena are in reversible, proportional correlation and figure more apparently just before or during the shortly undesirable environmental changes, depending on their expansion and cross border territorial involvement in human and material sources.
Q.5. Explain why the causes of male and female migration are different in India? Find out the environmental consequences of migration.
Ans. The reasons for migration of males and females are different. For example, work and employment is the main cause of male migration while it is very less for females. Contrary to this, about 65 per cent of females move out from their parental houses following marriage. This is the most important cause in the rural areas of India except in Meghalaya where reverse is the case.
Overcrowding of people due to rural migration has put pressure in the existing social and physical infrastructure in the urban areas. This ultimately leads to unplanned growth of urban settlement and formation of slums and shanty colonies. Apart from this, due to over exploitation of natural resources, cities are facing the acute problem of depletion of groundwater, air pollution, disposal of sewage and management of solid wastes.
Q.6. What are the causes of male and female migration and the environmental consequences?
Ans. Males-largely migrate for jobs/employment. Females-largely move after marriage. Environmental Consequences :
(i) Overcrowding of people due to rural urban migration.
(ii) It puts pressure on existing social and physical infrastructure.
(iii) It leads to unplanned urban growth.
(iv) It leads to slums.
(v) Over exploitation of resources.
(vi) Pollution (Air, water & noise)
Detailed Answer :
(i) It puts pressure on existing social and physical infrastructure : It is feared that the ongoing influx of migration is forcing the nations to exceeds its ‘carrying capacity’, stressing an already over burdened physical and social infrastructure.
(ii) Over exploitation of resources : Migration in large number is also affecting the ecological realities such as limited potable water, topsoil, minerals, etc., and also increases the resources scarcity.
(iii) It leads to slums : Rapid growth in population due to migration leads to spreading of slums. The rural migrants who come to urban areas in search of employment cannot afford place to live in dwell in slums. In recent years, dramatic growth has been found in number of slums as urban populations have increased in developing countries.
(iv) Overcrowding of people due to rural urban migration : Migration of low-skilled workers, refugees, etc., creates problems of overcrowding in urban areas and hence puts pressure on basic infrastructure of that area.
(v) Pollution : Migration of labour has a negative impact as well as it leads to pollution in various forms such as water pollution, air pollution, land pollution, etc.
Q.7. What are the economic and social consequences of migration?
Ans. Economic Consequences of Migration :
(i) A major benefit for the source region is the remittance sent by migrants.
(ii) Remittances from the international migrants are one of the major sources of foreign exchange.
(iii) In 2002, India received US $ 11 billion as remittances from international migrants.
(iv) Punjab, Kerala and Tamil Nadu receive very significant amount from their international migrants.
(V) The amount of remittances sent by the internal migrants is very meagre as compared to international migrants, but it plays an important role in growth of economy of the source area.
(vi) Unregulated migration to the metropolitan cities of India has caused overcrowding.
(vii) Development of slums in industrially developed states is a negative consequence.
Social Consequences of Migration :
(viii) Migrants act as agents of social change. The new ideas related to new technologies, family planning, girl’s education, etc., get diffused from urban to rural areas through them.
(ix) Migration leads to intermixing of people from diverse cultures.
(x) It has a positive contribution such as evolution of composite culture and breaking through the narrow considerations and widens up the mental horizon of the people at large.
(xi) It also has serious negative consequences such as anonymity, which creates social vacuum and sense of dejection among individuals.
Q.8. Discuss the benefits and problems of migration.
Ans. Benefits:
(i) It has a positive contribution such as evolution of composite culture and it breaks the narrow considerations.
(ii) It plays an important role in the growth of economy of the area of destination.
(iii) It provides better job opportunities and availability of the area of destination.
(iv) It gives higher wages to job seekers in the urban areas.
(v) The area from where people migrate is benefitted by the remittances sent back home.
(vi) These remittances are mainly used for food, repayment of debts, health treatments, marriages, children’s education, agricultural inputs and construction of houses.
Problems :
(i) Age and skill selective out migration from the rural area has an adverse effect on the rural demographic structure.
(ii) It creates a social vacuum.
(iii) It develops a sense of dejection among individuals.
(iv) The feeling of dejection may motivate people to fall in the trap of anti-social activities like crime and drug abuse.
(v) It causes imbalance in sex ratio in the place of origin and destination of the migrants both.
Q.9. Discuss the demographic consequences and consequences of international migration.
OR
What is the impact of rural-urban migration on the age and sex structure of the place of origin and destination? Discuss the consequences of international migration in India.
OR
Discuss the consequences of international migration in India.
Ans. Demographic Consequences : (i) High out migration from Uttaranchal, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Eastern Maharashtra have brought serious imbalances in age and sex composition in these states.
(ii) Similar imbalances are also brought in the recipient states.
Consequences of International Migration :
(i) Remittances from international migrants are one of the major sources of foreign exchange. In 2002, India received US $ 11 billion as remittances from international migrants.
(ii) Migrants act as agents of social change. The new ideas related to new technologies, family planning, girl’s education, etc., get diffused from urban to rural areas through them.
(iii) Migration leads to intermixing of people from diverse cultures. 2+3=5 (CBSE Marking Scheme, 2017)
Q. 10. What are the socio-demographic consequences of migration?
OR
Examine critically the demographic and social consequences of rural-urban migration of population in India.
Ans. Social Consequences of Migration :
(i) Migrants act as agents of social changes. The new ideas related to new technologies, family planning, girl’s education, etc, gets diffused from urban to rural areas through them.
(ii) Migration leads to intermixing of people from diverse cultures.
(iii) It has a positive contribution such as evolution of composite culture and breaking through the narrow considerations and widens up the mental horizon of the people at large.
(iv) It also has serious negative consequences such as anonymity, which creates social vacuum and sense of dejection among individuals.
Demographic Consequences of Migration:
(i) High out migration from Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Eastern Maharashtra have brought serious imbalances in age and sex composition in these states
(ii) Similar imbalances are also brought in the recipient states.
Q. 11. Explain economic, social and demographic consequences of migration. Write two points of each.
Ans. Economic Consequences of Migration:
(i) A major benefit for the source region is the remittance sent by migrants.
(ii) Remittances from the international migrants are one of the major sources of foreign exchange.
(iii) In 2002, India received US $ 11 billion as remittances from international migrants.
(iv) Punjab, Kerala and Tamil Nadu receive very significant amount from their international migrants.
(v) The amount of remittances sent by the internal migrants is very meagre as compared to international migrants, but it plays an important role in the growth of economy of the source area.
(vi) Unregulated migration to the metropolitan cities of India has caused overcrowding.
(vii) Development of slums in industrially developed states is a negative consequence.
Social Consequences of Migration :
(i) Migrants act as agents of social change. The new ideas related to new technologies, family planning, girl’s education, etc., get diffused from urban to rural areas through them.
(ii) Migration leads to intermixing of people from diverse cultures.
(iii) It has a positive contribution such as evolution of composite culture and breaking through the narrow considerations and widens up the mental horizon of the people at large.
(iv) It also has serious negative consequences such as anonymity, which creates social vacuum and sense of dejection among individuals.
Demographic Consequences of Migration :
(i) High out migration from Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Eastern Maharashtra have brought serious imbalances in age and sex composition in these states.
(ii) Similar imbalances are also brought in the recipient states.
Q. 12. Social migration is a very commonly noticed phenomenon. The Indian Diaspora has been playing an important role in the development of other countries. Discuss the various waves of migration that took place in India.
Ans. (i) During the colonial period, millions of the indentured labourers were sent to Mauritius, Caribbean Islands, Fiji and South Africa by the British from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
(ii) All such migrants were covered under the timebound contract known as Girmit Act (Indian Emigration Act). However, labourers were not better than the slaves.
(iii) The second wave of migrants ventured out into the neighbouring countries in the recent times as professionals, artisans, traders and factory workers in search of economic opportunities. They went to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, etc., and the trend continues till today.
(iv) There was a steady outflow of India’s semi-skilled and skilled labour in the wake of the oil boom in West Asia in the 1970s.
(v) There was also some outflow of entrepreneurs, storeowners, professionals, businessmen to western countries.
(vi) Third wave, of migrant comprised of professionals like doctors, engineers, software engineers, management consultants, financial experts, media persons who migrated (1960s onwards) to USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Germany, etc.
(vii) These professionals enjoy the distinction of being one of the highly educated, the highest earning and prospering groups.
(viii) After liberalisation, in the 90s, education and knowledge-based Indians emigration has made Indian Diaspora one of the most powerful diasporas in the world. In all these countries, Indian diaspora has been playing an important role in the development of respective countries.
Q. 13. “Migration is a response to the uneven distribution of opportunities over space.” Justify the statement.
Ans. Migration is a response to the uneven distribution of opportunities over space :
(i) People move from place of low opportunity and low safety. This, in turn, creates both benefits and problems for the areas, people migrate from and migrate to.
(ii) Consequences can be observed in economic, social, cultural, political and demographic terms.
Economic Consequences:
(i) A major benefit for the source region is the remittance sent by migrants.
(ii) Remittances from the international migrants are one of the major sources of foreign exchange.
(iii) In 2002, India received US $ 11 billion as remittances from international migrants.
(iv) Punjab, Kerala and Tamil Nadu receive very significant amount from their international migrants.
(v) The amount of remittances sent by the internal migrants is very meagre as compared to international migrants.
(vi) Internal migrants play an important role in the growth of economy of the source area.
